Reduced Prices of Life Saving Drugs

Steps to Revive Sick Fertiliser Units to Increase Production Chemical Industry to be Given a Fillip Through a New National Chemical Policy A Broad View of Activities in the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers for the Year -2014 The Government had been focusing on reaching medicines to the poor at cheaper prices.  It had been taking steps to further strengthen the Jan Aushadi Scheme. As a part of the scheme, it is now proposed to increase the Jan Aushadi stores and include more number of generic medicines to be sold through the stores.  Considering the dependence of the country for certain crucial bulk drugs/Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API)  a National Centre for Research and Development in Bulk Drugs (NCRDBD) is proposed to be made operational at a NIPER, Hyderabad to become an innovative hub and R&D provider in the Sector.  This will help in offering competitive and echo friendly technologies in specified areas, products and processes. Besides, efforts for capacity building of the industry, various National Institutes of Pharmaceutical Education & Research (NIPER) are being strengthened. The Ministry has launched major measures to encourage production and capacity-building in the Pharma Sector. Cluster Development Programme for Pharma Sector (CDS-PS) - With a vision to catalyze & encourage quality, productivity and innovation in the pharmaceutical sector to meet the ever growing domestic needs, and at the same time, enable the Indian pharmaceutical sector to play a leading role in a competitive global market, the Ministry has approved the introduction of CDS-PS on 27.10.2014. Task Force have been set up, comprising of representatives from Government Departments/ Institutions and Industry Associations has been set up in the Ministry to o   enable the Private Sector to lead the growth of Pharmaceutical Sector and o   for Development of manufacturing capabilities in each medical vertical in Pharmaceutical production For the first time a Task Force has also been set up to identify issues relating to the promotion of domestic production of high end Medical Devices and Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Equipment in the Country. Revival Initiatives for Pharma PSUs – The Ministry has initiated Rehabilitation Schemes for two sick CPSEs - Hindustan Antibiotics Ltd. and Indian Drugs & Pharmaceuticals Ltd. Another sick unit – Bengal Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Ltd has reported a 243% increase in production during the period April-October, 2014, as compared to last year – from Rs.11.23 crores to Rs. 38.62 crores.  Measures for revival of Fertiliser Corporation of India Limited (FCIL) units at Talcher, Gorakhpur, Ramagundam and HFCL Unit of Barauni have been initiated. Similarly steps for immediate revival of the Fertilizers and Chemicals Travancore Limited (FACT) have been taken on instructions from the Prime Minister. The aim is to increase production of fertilizers in the country as a part of the “Make In India” concept. A new fertilizer policy itself is on the anvil which would also propound balanced use of fertilizers. For clearing the backlog of  the pending subsidy claims on fertilizers a Special Banking Arrangement has been made in June 2014  to clear claims of 7000 crore rupees. The New Investment Policy under which there are 12 proposals for setting up new fertilizer units in the country had been modified and is being pursued. Details: http://pib.nic.in/newsite/erelease.aspx?relid=113449 In a new way various concerned Ministers are holding parleys to thrash out various problems in reviving of these units.  Serious steps have been initiated for extension of the Hazira -Jagdishpur gas pipeline for revival of these units in Northern and the Eastern Corridor. Similarly, the gas pipelines in the Southern region are proposed to be extended or completed for revival of the fertilizer units there besides development of other industries.  Possibilities of providing the Gas pipeline connectivity to Madras Fertilisers Limited – Manali (MFL), Mangalore Chemicals & Fertilizers Limited, Mangalore (MCFL) and Southern Petrochemical Industries Corporation Limited , Tuticorin,(SPIC) were being explored, as they were closed due to earlier decisions, being Naphtha based units. Several meetings were held involving the Minister for Chemicals & Fertilisers Shri Ananth Kumar, the Minister for Petroleum & Natural Gas Shri Dharmendra Pradhan and the Minister forPower, Coal and New and Renewable Energy, Shri Piyush Goyal.              The draft National Chemical Policy which has been prepared after extensive consultation with stakeholders is being considered to be finalized. The draft Policy considers various imperatives in a comprehensive manner for the growth and sustainable development of the chemical sector in the country.  The vision is to increase the share of the chemical sector in GDP substantially and devise strategies to increase investments, ensure availability of feedstock, promote R&D and increase competitiveness in the international market.             Meanwhile in the Budget 2014-15 announced on 10th July 2014, Government approved rationalization of customs duty structures which will increase the competitiveness of the domestic petrochemical industry. The major announcements which will boost investment by domestic industry are:   i)        Customs duty reduction on reformate from 10% to 2.5% and other petrochemical feedstocks namely ethane and propane from 5%   to 2.5 %. ii)      Customs duty reduction on building blocks namely ethylene, propylene, butadiene and    ortho-xylene from 5% to 2.5%. iii)    To sustain the recent investment on Spandex Yarn (an import substitution product), the customs duty on raw materials used in its manufacturing has been reduced to 2.5% (from 5%)             As a part of development of various Petroleum, Chemicals and Petrochemicals Investments Regions (PCPIR)of the country anchor Companies and Industry bodies have been formed for each PCPIR, under the chairmanship of Secretary(C&PC),  to monitor and expedite implementation of the PCPIRs already established  in   Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Odisha and Tamilnadu. . Central Institute for Plastics Engineering and Technology (CIPET) has signed MoUs with various State Governments Departments to impart skill development / vocational   training At present the Government has accorded approval for setting up plastic parks in Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Assam and Tamil Nadu. However, in view of demand from other State Governments i.e. Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Kerala and  Gujarat the Department has proposed to increase the number of plastic parks to be setup from 4 to 10. Research & Development In order to encourage the plastics industries under `Make-in India` campaign, initiative has been taken for "Standardization of Plastic Products". In a meeting in the Ministry on 11th November, 2014, it was proposed to pursue BIS to promote more standards by creating a dedicated Divisional Council on plastics and allied products.

Empowering Women

Based on the results of Employment and Unemployment surveys(EUS) conducted by National Sample Survey Office(NSSO) during NSS 61st round (July 2004-June2005), NSS 66th round (July 2009-June2010) and NSS 68th round (July 2011-June 2012), Worker Population Ratio(WPR)* for females in usual status (ps+ss) is: Period                             Worker Population Ratio( in percent for females in usual status (ps+ss) 2004-05                           28.7% 2009-10               22.8% 2011-12               21.9% *Worker Population Ratio: The Workers (employed persons) in the usual status (ps+ss) are obtained by considering the usual principal status and the subsidiary status together. The workers in the usual status (ps+ss) include (a) the persons who worked for a relatively long part of the 365 days preceding the date of survey and (b) the persons from among the remaining population who had worked at least for 30 days during the reference period of 365 days preceding the date of survey. Worker Population Ratio: no. of employed persons *100                                                     Total persons As per information provided by the Ministry of Women and Child Development the Ministry had enacted various special laws relating to women for protection and empowerment of women such as the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005; Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961; Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986; and the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 and Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006(PCMA). The Government implements several schemes/programmes such as Swadhar and Short Stay Home, Working Women Hostels, Support to Training and Employment Programme for Women (STEP), Rashtriya Mahila Kosh (RMK) for the welfare and empowerment of women. The Government of regularly conducts awareness generation programmes and publicity campaigns on various laws relating to women through workshops, fairs, cultural programmes, seminars, training programmes etc.  Continuous awareness creation among men and women in the society through workshops, seminars, street plays, Nari Ki Chaupals, Beti Janmotshav at the district level. In collaboration with Ministry of Panchayati Raj Special (Mahila) Gram Sabhas have also been conducted. Further, advertisements in the press and electronic media educating peoples about issues of domestic violence, Child Sex ratio, Child Marriage and Child abuse etc. also being taken up. Platforms such as the International Women’s Day and the National Girl Child Day are used to create awareness on issues related to women and to bring to the centre stage issues such as sex selective abortions and child marriage. Through Sabla programme of this Ministry, adolescent girls in the age group of 11 to 18 years are imparted training with regard to legal rights of women. As per the information given by the Ministry of Labour and Employment, in order to provide employment to the unemployed youth including women, Government of India is implementing various public employment generation schemes like Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA), Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM), Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) and National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM). Government has set a target to skill 5 crore persons during 12th Five Year Plan keeping in view the requirements of various sectors. In order to improve the employability of youth, various Central Government Ministries run skill development schemes across different sectors. There are provisions in these schemes to give adequate coverage to women. According to the data compiled by National Skill Development Agency (NSDA), about 75.88 lakh persons were given skill development training in the year 2013-14 under these schemes.

Tribals worse off, facing alienation, says high-level panel report

Govt suppresses report recommending radical reforms to improve their socio-economic status as it goes against Centre's rapid industrialisation agendaThe National Democratic Alliance government at the Centre has suppressed the report of the High-Level Committee on the Status of Tribals. The report presents a scathing analysis of how development activities and strategies in India have increased the socio-economic gulf between tribals and rest of the citizens of India and left the former worse off on many counts. The committee, headed by Professor Virginius Xaxa, has recommended several radical changes to the laws and regulations to prevent further land alienation of tribals and to give them greater control over their resources.

Several of the report's recommendations go against some of the changes the government is undertaking or contemplating to push for faster and easier industrialisation. The report, a comprehensive review of the socio-economic status of the 700-odd tribal communities of the country, has been kept under wraps since May 2014 when it was submitted to the government.

The high-level panel carried out a detailed analysis of the poor socio-economic status of the tribals in India, and noted, "Tribes are among the poorest and most marginalised sections of Indian society. Although numerically only about 8.6 per cent, they disproportionately represent the people living below the poverty line, are illiterate and suffer from extremely poor physical health."

Business Standard reviewed the report, running into more than 400 pages, which records how on parameters assessing income levels, education health and other development indices the condition of tribals has either worsened or improved at such low rates that the gulf between them and the rest of Indians has only grown as the country has developed. The authors recorded, "As a part of the nation-building process, tribal areas have witnessed large-scale development of industry, mining, infrastructure projects such as roads and railways, hydraulic projects such as dams and irrigation. These have been followed by processes of urbanisation as well. The overall impact of these on tribes has been often loss of livelihood, massive displacement and involuntary migration."

Tribals displaced
The report says that about 40 per cent of all people displaced in India due to development activity have been tribals (pegged at 24 million), even though they constitute less than 10 per cent of the total population. Only 21.16 per cent of these have been resettled (though most have not been rehabilitated). In a scathing comment on the development path successive governments have followed in tribal areas, the authors say, "What the State is actually pursuing in tribal areas - apart from North-East India - is assimilation rather than integration, contrary to what is claimed. A policy of integration would provide space for protections and safeguards for their distinct identity, as enshrined in the Constitution. However, these provisions are precisely what are under threat of erosion through the process of cultural domination and more importantly, the prevailing development paradigm."

The authors have also criticised the State-led development strategy, recording how protests against land alienation are met with large scale criminal charges against tribals. "Laws and rules that provide protection to tribes are being routinely manipulated and subverted to accommodate corporate interests. Tribal protests are being met with violence by the State's paramilitary forces and the private security staff of corporations involved," they say.

Besides Xaxa, the other authors of the report were K K Misra, Abhay Bang, Joseph Bara, Sunila Basant, Usha Ramanathan and Hrusikesh Panda, serving secretary of the tribal affairs ministry. They summarise in the report, "Tribal communities face disregard for their values and culture, breach of protective legislations, serious material and social deprivation, and aggressive resource alienation."

The panel recommends radical changes to the laws, regulations and rules to protect tribal communities from land alienation and to ensure their rights over resources are handed back and protected.

It has mooted that no tribal land should be alienated without the consent of the tribal gram sabha (village council). It has also recommended that mining in their land should be carried out by tribals themselves as has been done in some cases in Andhra Pradesh, through tribal cooperatives.

The authors noted, "It is essential that the whole process of displacement should be democratic and rights of tribal communities to say 'no' to acquisition of their land and to access and manage forests and other common property resources (CPRs), be recognised."

Asking for strict implementation of the new land law, Forest Rights Act and the strengthening of the Panchayat (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, the committee has noted how the regulations under these have been flouted by central and state agencies, including the highest echelons of the government, such as the Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure (in the previous United Progressive Alliance government). It has warned against diluting the provisions of the laws that require prior informed consent of the tribals. This runs contrary to the concerted push in the NDA government to do away with the need for consent of gram sabhas while acquiring forest lands and internal discussions on dilution of the new land acquisition law.

The committee while recommending greater, stronger and strict implementation of the Forest Rights Act has noted that rights of tribals over many of their common property resources outside the forest areas are not yet recognised. "Forest rights have been covered under the Forest Rights Act, but other CPRs such as government land and panchayat land has not been covered by any legislation. This needs to be rectified."

Contrary to the thinking in the current government, the panel has recommended that even government's acquisition of tribal land should be done with their prior consent. It has also warned that government acquisition of tribal land in order to hand over control to private entities through PPP mode works to only circumvent the laws and the spirit behind them. It has asked this be done away with.

The committee has recommended that the new land law should be amended to ensure that any exploitation of natural resources in Scheduled Areas also be carried out with the consent of the Gram Sabha. It has advised other changes to the law to give tribal communities greater resettlement and rehabilitation rights, controls and oversight over the entire mechanism of displacement.

It lists out a series of other changes to laws and regulations governing land and natural resources, such as the Coal Bearing Act, firming up the actual control of tribal communities over their resources through primary level democratic bodies and to plug loopholes and administrative backdoor routes that exploit tribals.

The high-level panel has asked for a radical change in the overall legal constitutional regime as well for tribal welfare. It has said, "Laws and policies enacted by the Parliament and state legislatures should not be automatically applied in the Fifth Schedule areas."

Powerful tribal councils
It has asked that the "Applicability (of laws on scheduled areas) should be made contingent on the discretion of the governor, who would determine its non-applicability or applicability or modifications/amendments on the advice of the Tribes Advisory Council and issue a Statement of Objectives and Reasons for any decision."

It has advised that in case this change in the legal structures is not tenable "the governor should be mandated to examine the implications of legislations and policies (particularly, though not exclusively, those pertaining to issues such as forests, land acquisition, conservation, mines and minerals, health and education) passed by Parliament or state legislatures on tribal welfare. The governor must also take the advice of the Tribes Advisory Council on the same."

In parallel, it has advised an overhauled structure and powers of the Tribes Advisory Councils to give them more teeth and make them work for welfare of these communities.

It has also noted that there are many areas where scheduled tribes form sizeable populations but the regions are not designated as scheduled areas in states such as West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Goa. It has recommended that these immediately be classified as Scheduled Areas. It has also asked that backdoor routes - such as declaring regions as urban areas - to remove some regions from Scheduled Areas should be done away with.

The report also lays out an overhauled, expansive and detailed framework for providing better education, health and opportunities to tribal communities across the country

Advisory Group for Integrated Development of Power, Coal, and Renewable Energy Submits its Report

Report Covers Contemporary Issues and Challenges in Respect of the Ministries of Power, Coal, and Renewable Energy

Sh. Suresh P. Prabhu, Chairman of the Advisory Group ( now Union Minister for Railways) for Integrated Development of Power, Coal, and Renewable Energy has presented its final report to Sh. Piyush Goyal, Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal & New and Renewable Energy here today. The Advisory Group was set up by the Government on 25th June, 2014. The Group was chaired by Shri Suresh Prabhu, Former Minister of Power, Government of India (now Railway Minister), and consists of Shri R.V. Shahi, (Former Power Secretary) as Member-Convenor, Shri Pratyush Sinha (Former Chief Vigilance Commissioner), Shri Anil Baijal (Former Home Secretary), Dr. Anil Khandelwal (Former Chairman, Bank of Baroda), Dr. K.K. Nohria (Former CEO, Crompton Greaves), Shri Partho Bhattacharya (Former CMD, Coal India), and Shri Vallabh Bhansali (Former CEO, ENAM) as Members. Starting from the First Meeting on June 27 - 28, 2014, altogether Twenty Four Meetings were held (the last Meeting on 24th December, 2014). Keeping in view the urgency in respect of some of the issues, the Advisory Group submitted two Interim Reports on 23rd August, 2014, and 7th September, 2014. The Advisory Group interacted with officials of Ministries of Power, Coal, New and Renewable Energy, Environment and Forest, Cabinet Secretariat, CEA, various Public Sector Companies, under these Ministries, officials of some of the State Governments, Consulting organizations like Mckinsey, Bain & Company, KPMG, Centre for Policy Research, World Bank, Association of Power Producers etc. to ascertain their views and suggestions. The Report covers contemporary issues and challenges in respect of the Ministries of Power, Coal, and Renewable Energy. In the Report, suggestions have been made for enhancement of coal production in short, medium and long terms. Improvements needed in Coal India and its subsidiaries including CMPDI have also been identified and appropriate actions have been recommended. It has been suggested that opening up of the coal sector may be necessary, to supplement in a significant way, the domestic production by Coal India and a few other Companies. The Group has also suggested the salient aspects of the Coal Block Auction Process, Coal Linkage Rationalization, Swapping of Coal Linkages, need for Urgent Action on Coal Linkages to Power Plants already Commissioned, and likely to be Commissioned by March, 2015, Railway Infrastructure from Coal Mines to main Railway System, to be developed through various options including JV Company on Infrastructure by CIL etc. Concerning Power Sector issues, on which recommendations have been made in the Report by the Advisory Group include Amendments to Electricity Act, Tariff Policy, Standard Bidding Documents (Case I and Case II), approach to and challenges associated with 24X7 Power Supply, Urgent need for Distribution Sector Reform with targeted actions including Privatization /PPP in Distribution, Enhanced role of and Improvements in working of CEA, Transmission constraints – short term and long term actions, enhancement of Thermal Power Capacity Addition, Advance actions for Coal Linkage and other inputs for Thirteenth Five Year Plan Projects, Need and Actions for Accelerating Hydro Power Projects, Role of POSOCO for a Congestion free Transmission and Market Development, Phasing out of old and inefficient Thermal Power Plants which consume excessive fuel etc. Recommendations on Amendments to Electricity Act include separation of Carriage and Content in the Distribution license, authorization to Central Government to adopt measures for incentivizing Renewable Energy generation, making Tariff Policy obligatory for Regulatory Commissions, New Coal based Generating Plants to also have obligation to set up Renewable Energy Generation Station as a percentage of the Conventional coal based Power Plant as specified by the Government, restricting the authority of the State Governments to issue directive to prevent Open Access, to provide options to Consumers to choose their Power Suppliers with the objective of facilitating competition in power supply, further strengthening of Penal provisions with a view to improving quality of service, and Grid discipline, establishment of regional Regulators in consultation with States at an appropriate time, mechanism for review of performance of Regulatory Commissions through Forum of Regulators etc. Renewable Energy, particularly Solar and Wind, require large scale capacity addition which will not only balance the skewed power sector profile, but will also lead to price parity with conventional power due to economy of scale. Green Transmission Corridors, Incentivizing Renewable Capacity Addition, Coal based Generating Companies to be obligated to also set up Renewable Power generation, Priority in purchase of Renewable Power by Distribution Utilities, Improving the functioning of Solar Corporation and IREDA, are some of the important recommendations in respect of Renewable Energy. Many of the amendments suggested in the Electricity Act also aim at encouraging and incentivizing Renewable Power development. It has been suggested that MNRE should get comprehensive studies conducted for more accurate estimates of Solar and Wind including Off-shore wind potentials, since the present estimates are grossly underestimated.

Integrated Power Development Scheme--Ensuring 24x7 Quqlity Power in Urban Areas

Power crisis in India is always a burning issue. With the demand for power growing manifold day by day, the need for round the clock availability of power has become more and more relevant.  With the launch of the Integrated Power Development Scheme (IPDS), power outages will be a thing of past.  Moving towards Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi-led government's objective to provide 24x7 power supply, the Union Cabinet has recently approved multiple schemes to improve transmission and distribution networks across the length and breadth of the country. The Integrated Power Development Scheme (IPDS) is one of the flagship schemes of the Ministry of Power and will be at the core attempt to ensure 24x7 power for all.

The IPDS announced in the Union Budget 2014-15 envisages strengthening of sub-transmission network, Metering, IT application, Customer Care Services, provisioning of solar panels and the completion of the ongoing works of Restructured Accelerated Power Development and completion of the Reforms Programme (RAPDRP). The scheme will help in reduction in AT&C losses, establishment of IT enabled energy accounting / auditing system, improvement in billed energy based on metered consumption and improvement in collection efficiency. The estimated cost of the present scheme with the components of strengthening of sub-transmission and distribution networks, including metering of consumers in the urban areas is Rs. 32,612 crore which includes the requirement of budgetary support from Government of India of Rs. 25,354 crore over the entire implementation period. The component of IT enablement of distribution sector and strengthening of distribution network approved by Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) in June, 2013 in the form of RAPDRP for 12th and 13th Plans will get subsumed in this scheme and CCEA-approved scheme outlay of Rs.44, 011 crore including a budgetary support of Rs. 22,727 crore will be carried over to the new scheme of IPDS. 

Eligible Utilities :

All Discoms including private Discoms and State Power Departments will be eligible for financial assistance under this scheme. Discoms will prioritize strengthening of urban infrastructure work considering specific network requirement and will formulate Detailed Project Reports for the projects for coverage under this scheme.  Projects under this Scheme will be completed within a period of 24 months from date of issue of Letter of Awards.  Power Finance corporation is the nodal agency for operationalisation of this scheme.

Funding Pattern:

Grant portion of the Scheme is 60% for other than special category States (up to 75% on achievement of prescribed milestones) and 85 % for Special category States (up to 90% on achievement of prescribed milestones). The milestones for the additional grant are : timely completion of the scheme, reduction in AT&C losses as per trajectory and upfront release of subsidy by State government. All North Eastern States including Sikkim, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand are included in special category States.

Tripartite/Bipartite agreement:

Suitable Tripartite agreement will be executed between Power Finance Corporation as the nodal agency of the Ministry of Power, the State Government and the Discom to ensure implementation of the scheme in accordance with the guidelines  prescribed under the scheme. Bipatite agreement will be executed in case of State Power departments.

Model Benchmark:

A model benchmark for power systems in urban areas which sets standards in items like digital/ prepaid metering ,underground cabling of 11KV and LT lines, limits for AT&C losses etc will be prepared by Central Electricity Authority within 5^th January 2015.

Find the men for the job

Can India's public sector come to the rescue of the Indian economy? That's the question which the government has asked, in the finance ministry's mid-year review of the economy. Some economists outside the government, too, have been asking the question, since most of the leading private industrial groups are so burdened with debt that they are unable to make fresh investments. Turning to the public sector for solutions would be a complete swing away from the narrative of the last couple of decades, namely that the public sector's inefficiency was matched by the private sector's efficiency. If it does not look like such a neat equation any more, it is because many of our billionaires have got neck-deep in debt in order to fuel their ambitions. In some cases are close to drowning in debt - because of changes in the marketplace, disputes with the government on public-private partnership contracts, and sweeping court orders that followed the unearthing of scams.

While this raises questions about the quality of risk assessment in the big private groups, and about standards of corporate governance, the fact to deal with is that corporate debt is at record levels, even as profit margins have collapsed. The government review says that Indian corporate debt in relation to equity is the highest in the world, and that one-third of companies have to borrow to pay interest costs, because profits are not enough. Some business houses have been struggling to hawk assets and reduce debt, with limited results - because businessmen are unwilling to recognise losses incurred. The resulting investment famine affects other sectors, and also affected indirect tax revenue - which has grown by less than inflation this year (in constant terms, revenue has fallen). The knock-on effects of private sector profligacy (and, let's note, of crony capitalism, too) are showing.

Businessmen may complain, as they did at a closed-door session of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) recently, that the Modi government is not doing anything to help. But there is little the government can do. The Reserve Bank could drop interest rates, but any serious cut in rates will take time to deliver, and still more time to take effect. Mr Modi has now decided to personally monitor stalled projects that involve investment of Rs 18 lakh crore (or 14 per cent of GDP). But even if all government clearances come, who has the money to invest?

The only real answer today, as the mid-year review argues, is: the government. But that answer comes with questions. Investment could be financed if the government raised extra resources through taxation, but that is a non-option in the middle of a continuing slowdown. The government could borrow more and invest, but the history of public sector investment is that, outside of sectors like oil marketing, the return on capital employed is lower than the government's cost of borrowing. The solution would have more votaries if new companies could be created that match the record of the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) or of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), and/or if the projects offer high non-financial returns that help the rest of the economy perform better. Possibilities today are the dedicated freight corridors, the Delhi-Mumbai industrial corridor and perhaps the national broadband network. International financing is available for some or all of these projects, and the way to access it may be through special purpose vehicles that raise debt which the government guarantees. But this becomes feasible only if the government can find men/women who can deliver well-run projects and companies, like D V Kapur who set up NTPC in the 1970s, V Krishnamurthy and R C Bhargava who set up Maruti, E Sreedharan who set up DMRC, and Nandan Nilekani of Aadhaar fame. We need to find and empower a dozen like them. That is where the government can and should be doing more

Naval LCA makes first flight from ski-jump

A giant leap for Indian Naval Aviation

In a defining moment for Indian Naval Aviation, the first prototype (NP1) of Naval Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), the first indigenously designed and developed 4th plus generation combat aircraft designed to operate from the decks of air-craft carriers, had a successful first flight from ski-jump facility of shore-based test facility at INS Hansa in Goa on Saturday.

Piloted by Commodore Jaideep Maolankar, the Chief Test Pilot of National Flight Test Centre, the aircraft had a perfect flight with results matching the predicted ones to the letter.

LCA (Navy) is designed with stronger landing gears to absorb forces exerted by the ski jump ramp during take-off, to be airborne within 200m as against 1000m required for normal runways. Its special flight control law mode allows hands-free take-off relieving the pilot workload, as the aircraft leaps from the ramp and automatically puts the aircraft in an ascending trajectory. Dr. Avinash Chander, Director General DRDO, congratulated the LCA Navy program team and said, “With today’s copybook flight of LCA-Navy from the land based ski-jump facility we see our own indigenous combat aircrafts soon flying from the decks of our aircraft carriers.”

“The maiden successful picture perfect launch of NP1is a testimony to the tremendous efforts put in by scientists and engineers to design the Naval aircraft, its simulator [that helps pilots to know well in advance how the aircraft will behave on ski jump] and the flight test team that timed the whole event to near perfection,” a Defence Ministry press release said.

It can be stated with conviction: “The indigenous Indian Naval Carrier Borne Aviation program has been launched, literally from the Ski-Jump,” the statement added. The NP1 will be more of a technology demonstrator and the Navy is waiting for LCA-2, with a more powerful engine, for operational deployment, Navy sources informed.

The Shore Based Test Facility has been created to replicate the aircraft carrier with a ski jump for take-off and arresting gear cable for arrested landing by Aeronautical Development Agency with the participation of the Indian Navy, Goa shipyard and Indian Navy with Russian agencies providing the design support and specialised equipment.